Let the Right One In
by Soulhates
Summary: In which Ichigo is a taxi driver and Rukia finds it hard to swallow that someone with such a refined upbringing like her can fall for him. IchiRuki.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Though she was raised with strict punctuality drilled into her head, Rukia nonetheless found herself running hopelessly late to a blind date that her friend Momo had set up for her.

She had to admit that she hasn't been exactly looking forward to this event. She also had to admit that this reluctance perhaps manifested itself in her purposeful lack of time management, which put her in her present predicament. But that was neither here nor there.

Her date, someone by the name of Renji Abarai who was close to Momo from their college days, had texted Rukia just a few minutes earlier, asking about her whereabouts. Too late to back down now.

She quickly typed a reply, blaming her lateness on the traffic.

 _It looks like it might take at least half an hour or more. The traffic is horrid. Sorry about the wait!_

After that little white lie, Rukia gathered her resolve, put on a decent outfit and some makeup, and finally set off. Initially, she planned to take the bus or metro–the public transportation in her city being so convenient that she never really found the need to own a car. The soonest one, however, wasn't scheduled to arrive until ten minutes later, and she really didn't wish to push the clock any further.

All this meant that the quickest option left was to take a cab, and so Rukia left her apartment building for the main road nearby and waited.

Because she lived in a relatively busy area, just a few blocks away from the heart of the city, there was guaranteed to be at least one or two taxis driving by in the next few minutes. Whether any of them would be unoccupied was up to luck, though.

Fortunately for Rukia, she managed to flag one down after a brief wait. She scooted into the backseat in a flurry.

"Where to, Missus?"

"Seireitei, the restaurant on Thirteenth Street. And make it quick." Her tone was made unintentionally curt by her hurried state.

Used to his clients being short with him, the driver replied, "Ya got it."

It took a brief moment, during which the driver glanced at his client through the rear view mirror before he spoke again. "So judging by how you're dressed, I'm guessing you either are secretly a celebrity who cares about her image, have an important interview, or going to a hot date."

"Excuse me?"

"Damn, were all my guesses wrong then?"

Rukia paused, surprised at his audaciousness. It really has been a while since she met someone this open, outside of her small but close-knit group of friends and associates. Deciding that he probably did not have any ulterior motives outside of making small talk, she humored him by saying, "Actually, yes to the date, though unsure about the 'hot' part, seeing as I've never met the guy before."

"Ah, so a blind date then. How exciting."

"You're welcome to take my place anytime."

The driver snickered, "For some reason, I doubt he would be my type. Who set you two up?"

"Now it's my turn."

"What?"

"You already asked me a nosy question, so it's only fair that I get to ask one, too," Rukia explained, partly because the driver's facetious personality was becoming infectious and partly because she wanted to get out of having to discuss her blind date any further.

The driver snorted, "Fine, ask away."

Shoot, Rukia hadn't thought far enough ahead to actually have a question ready. Looking for inspiration, she examined the driver and focused on his immediately noticeable feature. "Your hair. Why did you dye it orange?"

"People should stop thinking just because a hair color is unusual that I must've had it done," he sighed, perhaps a little too dramatically for effect. "It's actually not dyed. Completely natural."

"You're kidding!" Frantically, Rukia thought back to an unfortunate workplace incident a few weeks ago. She had innocently asked a new recruit named Toshiro Hitsugaya about his whitish hair as well, inquiring as to which salon he goes to dye it. Instead of responding, Hitsugaya stared at her for a few seconds, then turned away in a huff without a word. Before today, she hadn't thought much of it, crediting it to maybe him still being angry at her for an even earlier incident during which she mistook him for a child.

Realizing her potential mistake now, however, she made a mental note in her head to formally apologize to him on Monday.

"But I guess I could see why someone would assume that. I guess it _is_ a reasonable thing to be curious about" the driver had continued. "But yeah, no joke. My hair is as real as...as...reality?" He waved one hand around in the air as if to make up for his lack of eloquence. "Something like that. I've never been good at writing those comparison things back in composition class."

"I can tell, considering how you seem to be barely able to string words together to form a coherent sentence," Rukia ventured ahead with a jest. The driver had proved himself to be someone who was easygoing and could take jokes well so far.

Following along with her profile of him, he shot back, "Haven't anyone ever told you it was a bad idea to insult someone who's controlling a two-ton, metal death machine? One that you're basically entrusting your life to?"

"That sounds awfully threatening, Mr. Driver."

"The name's Ichigo Kurosaki."

"And I'm Rukia Kuchiki."

"I _would_ say 'it's nice to meet you,' but considering how rude you've been, I'd say it's my luck that we're at the restaurant already. The total's eight dollars."

"How fortunate that I no longer have to be trapped in a death machine with you," Rukia replied without missing a beat. As Ichigo pulled over to the sidewalk, she dug through her purse to find the right bills, which she promptly handed over. "Good night, Mr. Driver."

Walking away, she could hear a faint "It's Ichigo, not 'Mr. Driver'!" echoing from behind the closed doors of the cab.

Rukia smiled to herself, making sure not to look back, and made her way to the restaurant, chin raised high.

* * *

Call it luck, call it fate–though Ichigo would mostly like to call it misfortune–he saw a familiar just as he was about to call it quits for the day.

This time, though, the tiny, dark-haired woman was accompanied by a tall, red-headed man who flagged down the cab for her. Driving closer to the couple, he saw that it was less of her date accompanying her and more of his supporting her frame, an arm wrapped around her shoulders. Was she...having a dizzy spell? Drunk? Yes, definitely the latter.

"I'm _fine_ ," Ichigo heard Rukia say to the redhead, her slightly slurred words betraying her true state, as the taxi stopped right in front of the couple.

"I believe you, I'm just making sure you don't trip." The man then turned and looked down at Ichigo in the driver's seat. "Make sure she gets home safely. Here, this should cover the fare." He handed Ichigo a fifty-dollar bill and gave Rukia's address while the woman settled herself into the backseat, laying herself down completely across the cushions.

"That'll do," Ichigo said and began pulling the car away.

Just like their last ride, it wasn't long before Ichigo initiated conversation, not one to stand long stretches of silence. "So, how was the date? Bad enough that you got this hammered and asked to leave after just an hour?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's you again, Mr. Driver."

"Again, the name's Ichigo."

"Yeah, yeah," she said dismissively. "And I'll have you know, it was fine. He just wasn't my type."

Knowing that wasn't the full story, Ichigo employed his usual trick to get people to keep talking during a conversation–simply staying silent. He found that it worked like a charm, as most people, like him, felt uncomfortable in utter silence and would do much to avoid it.

"...He did also get a business call," Rukia admitted sheepishly. "Apparently, it was pretty urgent, so he had to leave to take care of some things. It was all very vague and sudden. But the part about him not being my type stands," she quickly insisted.

Ichigo realized he might be heading into a sensitive territory, so he steered it back with a question, "So how much _did_ you drink?"

"Three glasses."

"Of?"

"Wine."

"You mean to say–" his speech was punctuated by laughter throughout "–that just three glasses of wine made you this drunk? I would understand if you were drinking pure vodka, but wine?"

Rukia was becoming irritated, her temper made short by the fact that she was, yes, perhaps a little drunk after drinking just three glasses of wine. She snapped, "They were big glasses. And I'll have you know, there's no such thing as completely 'pure' vodka. By definition, vodka is ethanol with water, so it cannot be one hundred percent alcohol."

"For someone with such a low alcohol tolerance, you sure claim to know a lot about it."

"I'm sure all educated people would know the distinction." As soon as that sentence left her mouth, Rukia could feel the atmosphere in the cab grow colder. Had she hit a soft spot? Well, surely he had it coming for goading her on so much. God, her head was really starting to hurt. Was she home yet?

As if answering her question, Ichigo announced, a bit terse, "We're here."

There was a grunt of confirmation from Rukia as she sat back up from her recumbent position, opened the car door, and stepped out. As to what happened next, Ichigo could only describe the scene as the equivalent of a little girl trying out her mother's high heels for the first time. He could see why her date had been supporting her earlier.

Surprising her, and himself more so, he too exited the car and approached her side, offering a hand.

"I don't need someone who insults my alcohol tolerance to help me walk. I'm fine," she said dismissively, narrowly avoiding tripping another time.

"Are you still stuck on that," Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I was just joking with you. And I'm doing this because I following the etiquette expected of a driver. Besides, your date did give me fifty dollars to make sure you arrived home safely."

Rukia paused for a moment, and after deciding that his logic did make some sense, reluctantly grabbed his hand, though making sure to keep a respectable distance between the two of them. Didn't want anyone in her building to get the wrong idea, after all.

The two of them walked to the elevator, and Rukia immediately released Ichigo's hand and leaned against the wall instead. "It's alright, you can go now. What if someone breaks into your car or something?"

"Do you really think there'd be thieves in a rich neighborhood like this?"

It was true, Rukia did live in the nicer part of town, where she felt safe enough to often take a walk in the middle of the night to clear her head.

"There isn't anything worth stealing in there anyway," he continued. The elevator door opened and they both got in. "Nothing that couldn't easily be replaced."

Rukia pressed the thirteenth-floor button whilst bringing the other hand up to her mouth, chewing her thumbnail. She seemed to be ruminating about something with a conflicted expression on her face. Sure enough, she spoke just as the elevator beeped, informing them that they just arrived. "I am sorry if what I said earlier offended you in any way. That was not my intention, and I do not wish for this to be a point of contention between the two of us."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo feigned cluelessness.

"My comment about educated people knowing the definition of vodka." She took her keys out of her pocket just as they walked up to her door.

"Oh that, I had forgotten about that a long time back," he gave a laugh.

Glancing up at his face, Rukia decided she didn't quite believe him but let it go, all the same. "You can go now."

"Yeah, of course," Ichigo went back to sporting his neutral expression. "Nice doing business with you. If you ever go drinking again, I'd be happy to escort you home for another fifty."

"I'll pass on that." Rukia politely nodded a farewell and added a "Good night, Mr. Driver" before closing her door.

This time, she wasn't surprised when she heard "It's Ichigo, not Mr. Driver!" resonate behind her door.

 **A/N: So instead of doing my college essays, I figured this was a productive use of my time. The title is taken from a Swedish movie and novel.**

 **I'd love any and all reviews and promise to reply to everyone! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

This was not, in fact, the first time that Ichigo had looked up one of his clients online. The most recent occurrence, which was still about a few months ago, was most peculiar. A girl had spent the entirety of her ride telling him about her "ultimate life dream" of opening a bakery. She even made a Kickstarter to crowdfund her potential business, apparently.

After returning home that day, he had entered her name and a few key terms onto a search engine. Sure enough, the Kickstarter website popped up. Some consideration later, he even contributed a small amount, which led him to find a couple of coupons mailed to him much later, offering big discounts from "Sweets & Treats." Guessed everything worked out for her.

However, what made his search on this Rukia Kuchiki slightly different from the other ones was that all the previous ones had been done simply out of curiosity. This time, it was slightly more...practical. At least, that's what he told himself.

His sisters, Yuzu and Karin, had graduated from college just a month ago and had both received relatively good job offers right off the bat. Well, Karin did have a little more difficulty finding one than Yuzu, which he attributed to the former's devil-may-care attitude, which didn't exactly bode well in interviews. Nevertheless, they were excited and informed Ichigo of their plan to find an apartment together, intending to split the rent and navigate the difficulties of adulthood together for at least a little while.

All was well, until approximately yesterday, when they told him exactly which apartment they had picked out in the end, which just so happened to be in the same building as one Miss Kuchiki.

And so now...now he was just doing some homework on his sisters' future neighbor to make sure she was a respectable person, that was all. Maybe he was also just a little bit curious about her, too, as he did enjoy the ease with which they were able to joke around with each other–but mostly the more practical reason.

His shift ended right around eight o'clock, which was much better hours than what some of his coworkers had. He parked the taxi in the company's garage and walked the few blocks home.

His own apartment was rather small and spartan, with just a few mismatched pieces of furniture scattered in no discernable order. Just the essentials. The few times that his parents had visited him, they had reprimanded him for the lack of decorations. As a result, their Christmas presents to him always tended to consist of things like a framed print of Van Gogh's _Starry Night_ or posters of modern art.

Tossing his worn clothes into a hamper, he took a quick shower, grabbed some leftover pizza, and sat down with his laptop.

Rukia...Rukia Kuchiki...

He quickly found the website of the company she worked for, as it had a short biography on all their upper-level employees. Ichigo was genuinely surprised. She seemed young to be holding such a prestigious position.

The article explained that she had graduated cum laude and valedictorian of her class from a prominent university, one of the top business schools in the nation. After being scouted by Equity Insurance, she rose in quickly in ranks with her work ethic and intelligence.

Ichigo closed the browser. "She's way out of my league."

* * *

Rukia was exhausted after returning leaving work, having pulled over two hours overtime. It wasn't until she heard her stomach growl that she realized her apartment was all out of food. Sighing, she cursed herself for getting so consumed by her job that she forgot about domestic matters such as this. She'll just have to settle for some takeout.

While waiting for the elevator to bring her up to her floor, she took some time to check her phone for messages.

Ah, one from Momo.

 _Hey Rukia, I just created my_ best _red velvet cupcake recipe yet, you have to try it! I'll bring some over tomorrow afternoon if you have time._

Rukia typed back a reply, telling her that she's welcome anytime after six and scrolled to the next message. Her brother, Byakuya, this time.

 _Do not forget about the meeting tomorrow morning. Make sure to arrive twenty minutes before the scheduled time, as we still need to discuss the declining performance of the Las Noches branch of operations. -BK_

She sighed again. Byakuya only ever seemed to contact her for business-related reasons. While she understood that he was technically her boss within the company, it would be nice to talk about something other than work.

Composing a reply, she double-checked the grammar before hitting "send," just as the elevator made its signature beep, informing her that they've arrived at the thirteenth floor.

It took her by surprise, however, to find that the apartment door next to hers was open. She didn't think anyone lived there ever since a family of four had moved out a while back; she had even helped them load the furniture, as was the etiquette of being a good neighbor.

The takeout can wait, she decided, and popped her head into the doorway. "Hello?"

"Hi there!" The response came immediately from inside. Footsteps sounded on the wooden floors as a short woman with light brown hair ran up to greet the newcomer.

"I'm guessing you're going to be moving in soon?" Rukia asked.

"Yes, me and my sister, Karin. She's cleaning the bathroom right now." The woman turned her head and gave a shout, " _Karin, come over here!_ "

There was muffled grumbling heard in the background before a dark-haired woman appeared, looking slightly disheveled and annoyed at being beckoned away from her task. "What is it?"

Rukia extended a hand, "It seems like we're going to be neighbors relatively soon, nice to meet you both."

All three of them shook hands, and the light brown-haired woman introduced herself, "I'm Yuzu."

"Karin."

"Well, it's a bit late, so I'm going to get going," Rukia said. "If you need help with anything, I'm right next door. Do you need a hand with moving in the furniture? I know I look short, but I've helped several neighbors move in and out, actually."

Yuzu's face lit up, "We'll be happy to have your help, if you're free. My brother's going to be coming around with some of the furniture tomorrow afternoon, actually."

"See you then." They bid their farewells, and Rukia returned to her own apartment.

Her stomach audibly rumbled again, signifying to her that she had a difficult decision to make–Chinese takeout or Indian.

 **A/N: This was more of a transitional chapter, setting all the players in place before they all clash. So even though there wasn't an interaction this chapter, it's all in preparation for the next one. Also, just in case someone doesn't know, Kickstarter is a website where a person can start up a project/campaign and ask people to donate to it in order to fund it.**

 **Thanks to all my awesome reviewers! I'd love to hear what everyone thinks of this chapter. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Ichigo had to admit that his sisters had better taste in decor than he did, but he nevertheless still had one complaint, which was the sheer _amount_ of furniture they possessed and asked him to help move. The plan had been for Karin and Yuzu to rent a giant truck for the span of a day, during which the three Kurosaki siblings would take turns driving and picking up pieces of furniture when they have the time. It wasn't the most structured of plans, but they had managed to complete most of the move by noon.

Because Ichigo lived much closer to their parents' house, he was assigned the task of bringing some of his sisters' knick knacks from their old rooms that afternoon, which included books, decorations, lamps and study desks. While they did buy new furnishing, which was delivered earlier that day, it was of course much more economical to reuse old ones.

Immediately after his shift at work ended, Ichigo drove the rental truck to his old home, equipped with a lengthy list of the things that his sisters wanted.

Both of his parents greeted him at the door.

His father gave him a friendly slap on the back–with more force than necessary, as per their traditions–while his mother urged him inside to have a bite to eat before heading towards the new apartment. Originally, Isshin and Masaki had wanted to come along and help with the move, but Yuzu and Karin convinced them to stay after noticing that their mother was feeling a bit under the weather recently.

To appease his mother, Ichigo grabbed a few bites and promised to bring some food for his sisters after Masaki's insistence. It then took about half an hour to load everything in the truck, after which he bid his parents farewell and continued on his way.

Yuzu and Karin were waiting in the lobby of their apartment building after receiving a call from Ichigo that he would be arriving shortly.

"Alright," Karin said, cracking her knuckles. "Let's get this thing started."

"Oh, Ichigo," Yuzu had on a mysterious smile. "Someone might be coming by a little while later to help."

Half paying attention to Yuzu and half focusing on the task at hand, Ichigo hadn't noticed her expression and inquired with mild interest, "Hm, really? Who is it?"

She clapped her hands together. "One of our new neighbors. I think you'll really like her."

Karin rolled her eyes. "And by 'you'll really like her,' she really means 'you two should really become a couple immediately because I'm worried you'll live your life lonely and single forever.'"

"Karin!"

"What? It's what you were telling me last night."

"I did _not_ say it like that." Yuzu gave her twin a lighthearted smack on the arm. "I _meant_ that Rukia, our neighbor, seemed like a lovely person who might _potentially_ be a good match for you, Ichigo."

"Wait, Rukia?" Ichigo felt his palms sweating and quickly wiped them on his jeans.

"Yes, she said she'd help us out today. You know her?" Yuzu tilted her head quizzically.

"Oh no," he quickly responded. "I thought the name sounded familiar but I was wrong."

What else could he say? _I met her twice a while ago, we insulted each other, and I searched her up online, which is the extent of our relationship. I felt that we had a special something something._ Ridiculous. Besides, saying that he didn't truly know her wasn't a lie, either.

"Nonetheless," Karin spoke up, "we should get started moving all this stuff or else it'd be tomorrow before we're finished."

Glad to move on from their previous topic of conversation, Ichigo quickly responded with, "Yes, good idea."

The three of them were rather efficient at first, but the work soon got to them and their pace slowed considerably. Glancing at his watch, Ichigo realized that it was already seven-thirty, which meant he had already been at it for almost an hour and a half. There was still no Rukia in sight, which made him feel slightly relieved. Maybe she won't show up after all, which was what he was hoping for. Things might get more...complicated if his sisters got involved, especially if Yuzu really meant what she said earlier. About him and Rukia being a potential match and all. There were many reasons that Ichigo could think of on the spot as to why that won't work out, and at the top of the list was the fact that he was a taxi driver while Rukia seemed to be a highly-ranked employee at a successful insurance company. Yuzu wouldn't understand; she'd say that love trumps all or some optimistic cliché like that.

Best for Rukia to just be kept separate from his family members and their zealous nature.

* * *

Rukia was a little concerned that she might not be able to make it home in time to help her new neighbors, as she had previously promised. She already had to text Momo earlier that they should postpone the red-velvet-cupcake-tasting for another day because she had to stay at work overtime.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, which consisted of a significant inconsistency in several of the files, she and her team had to stay and rectify all the mistakes, which was supposed to take an extra two hours.

Toshiro Hitsugaya, who only recently joined her office, grumbled after she informed him that they, along with three other employees, had to work late and remained in a foul mood ever since. For all of his negative attitude, however, Rukia found that he was surprisingly more efficient than normal while angry, which ultimately paid off as they managed to fix all the files an hour in advance.

"Good work, everyone!" Rukia announced in an effort to lighten the mood after everything was finished.

Nanao Ise, ever professional, replied with a smile as she prepared her belongings to leave, "Thank you, Miss Kuchiki. See you tomorrow."

"Yes, see you all tomorrow. Did Toshiro leave already?"

"He hightailed it out of here as soon as all his files were fixed," Nanao said. "Muttering something about his grandmother? I'm not sure, but he seemed to be in a hurry."

Rukia sighed. She'll have to have a talk with him soon about being more cooperative. They all had their afternoon plans delayed or ruined because of this, but everyone else had been annoyed, yes, but at least accommodating and understanding. Hitsugaya might be a prodigy, which is what her brother had said to her when he assigned the young man to her team, but he is on equal footings with the rest of the employees here.

No matter, there were more important obligations at hand right now for Rukia than a worker acting sullen, and so she quickly bid a goodbye to the rest of the group and hurried out of the building. Normally, the commute home took about forty-five minutes, but thankfully the traffic was forgiving, and her bus arrived at the stop near her apartment ahead of schedule.

Walking the one block to her home briskly, Rukia saw a moving truck from a distance. Yuzu and Karin must still be at it, so she wasn't too delayed after all.

"Rukia!" A blonde figure standing right beside the vehicle called out after spotting her.

"Hey, Yuzu," Rukia jogged up to the young woman. "How much is there left to move?"

Yuzu laughed a little embarrassedly, "Still quite a lot, actually. We started off at a good pace but that didn't last too long. Karin insisted on a twenty-minute break a while ago. She's up in our apartment right now with my brother trying to order pizza, I believe."

"Okay, let me get changed into something more comfortable," Rukia gestured to her blazer and dress pants, "and I'll join you guys."

"Sounds good!"

Rukia made her way up to her apartment and grabbed shorts and a tee-shirt from her closet. While she changed, she swore she heard arguing from Yuzu and Karin's rooms right next door. What sounded like Karin's voice was shouting something about pineapple on pizza being the worst topping she has ever heard of, while a deeper voice–the brother?–called her unreasonable and uncultured for not wanting to try a heavenly topping sent by the gods.

A third voice, Yuzu most likely, joined in right as Rukia was pulling on her tennis shoes. The other two immediately quieted down afterward, and Rukia chuckled. Seemed like Yuzu was the peacekeeper of the bunch.

After Rukia felt satisfied with her attire, she grabbed a water bottle and headed over to Yuzu and Karin's.

"Hey, it's Rukia," she called into the apartment, the door to which was open wide.

"Come right in!" Yuzu answered from inside.

* * *

Ichigo had been right in the middle of an intense debate with Karin regarding pizza toppings when Yuzu barged in, bearing grave news. Well, it was grave news to him, at least.

"Stop being so loud, you two!" She said firmly–and at a normal volume. "Rukia just got back and is coming over to help soon. She can probably hear you two shouting through the walls."

So she came after all. Ichigo felt his palms growing clammy again. He was never one to be particularly anxious, but for reasons unknown, he felt that this seemingly inevitable reunion between him and this Rukia caused him undue stress.

"Sorry about that," Karin said to her sister. "I was just trying to educate Ichigo about the proper way to eat pizza, that's all."

Ichigo huffed, doing his best to appear unfazed in the slightest, and replied jokingly, quieter this time, "Oh please, Karin, you shouldn't educate me on something you know nothing about."

"You shouldn't–"

Karin's response was cut off by another voice from outside the door: "Hey, it's Rukia."

"Come right in!" Yuzu's face lit up.

"Were you guys arguing a few minutes earlier? I thought I heard..." Rukia slowly trailed off as she walked into the dining room and caught sight of Ichigo.

Something in Rukia's face must've given her away, because Karin jumped in, "So you two _do_ know each other?"

"Ah," Rukia met Ichigo's eyes and, as if she understood exactly what he was trying to convey with his deer-in-headlights expression, answered, "No, not really."

Karin looked back at her brother and narrowed her eyes with suspicion.

Yuzu did not seem to be as attuned to Ichigo's body language as her sister, and she went ahead and offered an explanation for the noise earlier, "Sorry about that. These two were just arguing about trivial things. Speaking of which, did you two actually end up ordering a pizza at all?"

"No," Ichigo scratched the back of his neck. "Say, um...Rukia, was it? Nice to meet you. I was just prepared to order a pineapple pizza if you haven't had dinner yet."

"Pineapple? That's a bizarre topping, Ichigo." Rukia wrinkled her nose.

" _Ha_!" Karin exclaimed. "That's _exactly_ what I was telling him earlier. Cheese pizza it is then. I'll call the pizza shop."

"In the meantime, the rest of us can head down to the truck and start moving the rest of the furniture," Yuzu said and gestured for her brother and Rukia to follow.

The three of them made their way to the elevator, at which point Rukia suddenly said, "Actually, I think I'll take the stairs down. It's good exercise and all, right?" All the while, she subtly elbowed Ichigo in the ribs without her sister noticing, hoping he'd get what she was hinting at.

"What do–" Realization dawned upon Ichigo as he noticed Rukia mouthing _we need to talk_ at him. There won't be any other opportunities for them to chat in private otherwise. Smart. "Yeah, that's actually a good idea, I'll do that, too. You can wait for the elevator, Yuzu."

"Oh, okay," Yuzu appeared mildly puzzled as she watched the two opening to the door to the stairwell but didn't press any further.

Finally away from the eyes of his siblings, Ichigo felt a sense of relief, which disappeared as he saw the frown on Rukia's face as they made their way down the staircase.

"Mr. Driver, we meet again. Care to explain?"

"The name is Ichigo Kurosaki," he responded automatically. "And what's there to explain? Yuzu and Karin are my sisters, who I guess happened to be your neighbors."

"Why did you make me lie to them and say we don't know each other?"

"I didn't make you do anything."

"Okay scratch that. Why did you _look_ like you wanted me to lie to them? You might not have noticed it, but you were actually shaking your head slightly."

"Well I wouldn't exactly call our last encounter 'getting to know each other.'"

Rukia fell into thought, then shrugged. "Fair enough. I suppose I wouldn't say to my brother that I knew you if the roles were switched."

"Right."

They descended into silence for the next few floors down until Rukia spoke up again, "Also, pineapple pizza? Are you serious?"

"Oh don't tell me you're going to be like Karin about this, too." He took a deep breath and prepared to lay out his carefully constructed reasons for his tastes in detail. Which, not to his surprise considering their previous conversations, descended into a full-on shouting match between before even reaching the bottom floor.

Yuzu was carrying two lamps out of the moving truck when she almost dropped them in surprise upon hearing the intense back-and-forth between Ichigo and Rukia as they exited the apartment building.

"–pineapples are perfectly respectable fruits! They have tons of nutrients, which you obviously didn't get enough of considering how short you are!"

The petite woman gave him a death glare, "Oh are you picking on my height now because you can't win the pizza debate? Well I'll have you know, I am just as physically capable as you are despite my short stature, just you watch!"

Neither of them seemed to notice Yuzu standing nearby with her jaw dropped, watching the scene unfold speechlessly. And, to prove her point, Rukia climbed into the moving truck, stacked three chairs together, and started walking to the elevator with feigned effortlessness. Not to be outdone, Ichigo stacked up the rest of the chairs, one more than what Rukia had, and followed after her with a smirk.

Still unsure of what exactly happened, Yuzu carried her lamps and hesitantly trailed behind Rukia and Ichigo, who were fighting over whether chairs were an accurate representation of their respective strengths. The three of them arrived shortly on the thirteenth floor, and after placing down the chairs, both Ichigo and Rukia dashed out again, trying to outcompete the other and not even giving Karin a chance to finish telling them that the order for pizza has been placed.

"What...exactly happened?"

Yuzu shook her head. "No idea."

"I was thinking," Karin lowered her voice, not wanting to be heard, even though both her brother and Rukia were probably long gone by then. "Did you realize that, earlier, Rukia knew Ichigo's name when she first came in? I don't think we've ever said it to her, and he hadn't even introduced himself..."

"So that would mean they _did_ know each other beforehand?" Yuzu filled in the blank.

"Yes, there has to be something they're not telling us, and I really want to know what."

* * *

"Slowpoke!"

"Cheater!"

"I'll have you know," Rukia countered, out of breath as she sprinted as fast as she could down the stairs, "that jumping over the railings is not cheating, just efficiency at work."

"That's what cheaters tell themselves to feel better about cheating."

Feeling triumphant despite what Ichigo was trying to argue, Rukia prepared herself for the last jump, a whole floor ahead of Ichigo. She then launched herself over the stairway railings, clearing it successfully, only to feel herself land wrong, her left feet twisting inward awkwardly. Perhaps it was due to the immense adrenaline rush, but she felt no pain at first and attempted to stand. Her feet gave out unexpectedly, however, and she was forced to reach out to the wall for support. "Goddamn it."

"What?" Ichigo flew down the last flight of stairs, skipping every other one, and turned to face her. Seeing that she was standing on one foot, he asked, "Did you sprain an ankle?"

"I'm fine." To prove she was fine, she retracted her hand from the wall and attempted to take a step towards him, only to stumble when her left foot could not bear the weight.

Catching her by her arms and pushing her gently upright, he said accusingly, "You did sprain it."

"I'll be fine," Rukia shook her head and put a hand against the wall again so she wouldn't have to lean on him. The pain was now manifesting itself and slowly intensifying, though it was nothing unbearable. For now, at least.

"You're not fine, Rukia. You should probably go home and sit down. Put some ice on it or something." He offered a hand. "Here."

Rukia peered at him, just as reluctant to accept help as the last time.

 _Not this stubbornness again_. "Well, if you don't want a hand I can always carry you because it's pretty obvious you can't walk well on your own." Ichigo shrugged with calculated nonchalance, not letting himself betray anything except snark.

Her face flushed red, and she quickly grabbed Ichigo's hand while steadying herself, as if she believed that he really would try to pick her up. "I would prefer the former option."

"Yeah, I thought you might."

"But just so you know," she mimicked his tone, while seeming to avoid his gaze, "I still beat you down the stairs."

 **A/N: School started for me, so I have much less time to write than I'd like. I'm hoping to update sooner, if my schedule would allow me. Also, I mean no harm to people who actually like pineapples on their pizzas, haha. I just needed a point of contention between Ichigo and Rukia.**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, and I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this one!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Rukia ultimately had to admit that her ankle spring was a blessing in disguise. Because of this incident, she actually had a legitimate excuse to call off work, which she had always been reluctant to do before, afraid of the disapproval from Byakuya towards anyone whom he even slightly perceives as "slacking off." As a result, the day after Yuzu and Karin's move-in had been one of the rare genuine leisure days Rukia has had recently.

She soon came across the problem of finding a proper way to spend all this newfound free time, being so unused to the luxury. Her left foot still hurt whenever she put weight on it, rendering any activity that involved excessive mobility unreasonable options. Yet, she was the type to feel restless if she stayed homebound for too long...a dilemma indeed.

In the end, she accepted the prospect of a sedentary day ahead of her and settled herself into the couch right in front of the television, ice pack right by her foot to alleviate the soreness.

Laziness and inactivity were not things she would make a habit out of, but that does not mean she can't grow to appreciate an occasional day of utter nonproductivity, right?

That was how she spent the better half of a day, watching whatever programs happened to come up on TV, occasionally leaving for the kitchen–albeit in a slow, lopsided limp–to grab a quick meal or snack. The monotony was broken only when she received a text notification from Momo, who informed Rukia that she will be paying a visit shortly with comfort food, which consisted of all of Rukia's personal favorite pastries that Momo made herself.

 _Sorry I wasn't able to come by earlier, but I'll be at your apartment in about half an hour_ , Momo's text read. _Things have been busy with the bakery lately, so I haven't had much time lately to hang out._

 _No worries, I've got all the time in the world today_ , Rukia typed a reply.

Sure enough, her friend arrived right on schedule thirty minutes after sending the text.

"The door's not locked!" Rukia called out after hearing the knock at the entrance.

Momo opened the apartment door, carrying in a large plastic Tupperware container filled with miscellaneous baked goods. She announced as she approached Rukia, "I come with sustenance."

Laughing, Rukia told Momo to lay the food down on her dining table and then wobbled her way over to examine the selection. It indeed had all her favorites, and she soon wolfed down two cupcakes with cream cheese icing within the span of five minutes.

"Momo, you are a lifesaver."

"Thanks, I try," Momo feigned a bow.

The two of them had grown up as neighbors and became fast friends as a result of the proximity. They were separated during their college years, with Momo staying in Karakura and Rukia traveling halfway across the country before returning to her hometown after graduation. Whilst Rukia remained a studious student throughout those four years, her friend had been much of the opposite, dropping out after three years to start her own art studio. When that path did not work out, she then dabbled within several other businesses before deciding to open a bakery.

When Momo told Rukia that she was attempting to finance her bakery startup through crowdfunding, Rukia had greatly doubted the feasibility of her methods, which was why she had been so surprised when it actually worked out.

"So how has the bakery been lately?" Rukia asked while looking at the tupperware box, seeking out the next pastry to devour.

Momo groaned. "More and more people have been coming lately, which I should–and am–happy about, but everything has just been busy busy busy." Her eyes widened suddenly. "That also reminds me...there's been this one person who's been coming a lot lately..."

"Go on."

"He always takes a long look at everything I've got on display then asks me for recommendations."

"What's so weird about that?"

"Yeah, but the thing is he almost never seems to _buy_ anything," Momo pouted. "Like occasionally he might get _one_ fruit tart or _one_ cupcake but mostly he just leaves empty-handed. It's such a waste of my time!"

Rukia smiled inwardly. "Does he try to make conversation a lot?"

"Yes, which he's not really good at."

"That proves it: he probably has a crush on you."

Rolling her eyes, Momo waved off the comment. "Oh please, I don't even know who he is, I just needed to rant. Forget I ever brought this up."

"No, no, no," Rukia edged her seat closer to her friend. "Tell me more. What does he look like?"

After some more prodding, Momo finally relented and decided to humor Rukia, "He's shorter than me, I swear, and has a very kiddish face and–"

Her description was cut short by the sound of another knock at the door.

"Nobody told me they were planning to show up." Rukia frowned and then raised her voice, "Who is it?"

"Uh, Ichigo." The hesitant tone made it sound almost like a question.

Rukia found that her role with Momo quickly switched as she now became the one who was interrogated. She whispered, fending off the accusatory gaze of Momo, "He, um, I'll explain later. It's a bit complicated."

With great effort, Rukia made her way to the door after instructing Momo to stay put at the dining room table. She opened the halfway and peered out. "Oh, Mr. Driver."

"I have soup," he said.

"I see that," she looked down at the large bowl he held in his hand.

"Or rather," he continued on quickly, "Yuzu and Karin made soup as an apology for what happened and as thanks for your help yesterday. And, uh, I wanted to bring this over for you."

He looked so uncomfortable that Rukia had to put all her effort in not bursting out laughing. Somehow, Yuzu and Karin both had it in their heads yesterday that part of the blame for Rukia spraining her ankle went to Ichigo, so it was not to her surprise that they would make their brother personally trek over and say sorry.

In no had Rukia seen the event as any fault but her own for becoming too careless–though she was genuinely surprised at how easy it was for Ichigo to make her lose her composure–but ultimately, the twins' reactions did help alleviate some of her own embarrassment at injuring herself in such an inane way.

Hating that she was caught off guard like this, though, Rukia wanted this exchange to be over quickly so she could properly explain the situation to Momo. She held out her hands to accept the soup bowl.

Instead of handing it over, Ichigo said, "It's a bit heavy, are you sure you're able to walk okay with it?"

Realizing that he made a fair point, Rukia found herself caught at an impasse. There were several options, each of which had its own cons. She could possibly tell him that her ankle was feeling perfectly fine and then just take the bowl, which held the very real chance that she will proceed to trip while trying to walk on her injuries and spill the soup. Then, there was the other choice of asking Ichigo to take it inside for her, which would result in Momo seeing him and potentially getting the wrong idea as a result of her thinking that Rukia invited a man inside her apartment so nonchalantly.

Ultimately, Rukia didn't have to make a decision, because Momo made one for her. A mix of curiosity at this mysterious "Uh, Ichigo" and boredom from waiting by herself at the dining room table urged her to the front door to see exactly what was happening.

"Why don't you invite your friend inside, Rukia?" Momo asked, laying a hand on Rukia's shoulder. "It's rude to keep guests standing right at the door."

"Oh, I didn't know you had someone over," Ichigo said. "I'll be on my way then. Here, would you be able to take the soup?" He directed his last question towards Momo.

"Actually," Momo smiled apologetically at him and gave Rukia a light, furtive pinch on the arm, "I was just planning to leave. Still a lot of work left for me to do at the bakery. So don't worry about me, feel free to...do your thing. That soup smells good, by the way."

"Wait, hold on–"

"It's okay, you don't need to–"

Before either Rukia or Ichigo was able to finish voicing their objections, Momo bid her goodbyes and quickly slipped away, leaving the two by themselves.

Sighing, Rukia reconsidered her limited options, which were even more limited now that Momo had skedaddled, and then mumbled, "Do you want to come in?"

 **A/N: So, all my classes were canceled today because there was a water main break at my school, which is why I was able to finish this chapter. To quote Momo, everything has been "busy busy busy" lately, but I'll try and continue to update. I would like to thank all the readers and reviewers for being patient, and I look forward to hearing your comments on this chapter!**

 **I would also like to give special thanks to Saiji Spellhart for illustrating a scene from this story! I'll post the link to it on my profile if anyone wants to check out the awesome work.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"You can, ah, you can put the soup bowl in the kitchen. It's right around the corner..." Rukia motioned with her arms whilst leading Ichigo to the correct location.

Passing by the dining table, which had all of Momo's cupcakes laid out in an artful display, Ichigo seemed to catch a whiff of the treats' tantalizing scent. He lingered for a second, then started to ask, "Say, Miss Kuchiki..."

Perplexed by the name he chose to call her, Rukia stole a quick glance back to determine whether or not he was somehow being sarcastic. She realized that his tone was perfectly serious, giving her the impression that he was acting extremely awkwardly and unlike himself. However, she had to concede that this was only the third time they had interacted, which meant she by no means have a comprehensive idea of what "acting like himself" entailed. She knew enough to know that this wasn't it, though, and that he seemed to feel tense and on edge at the moment. In fact, both of them did.

Wanting to relieve some of the rigidity in the atmosphere, she interjected with an air of levity, "Why are you being so formal, _Mr. Kurosaki_?"

Taken aback, he blinked a few times in rapid succession in response, the previous hesitance and sheepishness seemingly dissolving away at Rukia's purposeful prodding. In a flippant manner, he replied, "That has to be the first time you didn't call me 'Mr. Driver' or something equally embarrassing, Miss Kuchiki."

"Just 'Rukia' is fine, thank you," Rukia rolled her eyes, though secretly glad the discomfort in the atmosphere has lifted. Finally in the kitchen, she reached for the bowl of soup to place on the countertop, only to have Ichigo, unaware of her intentions, brush past her hand to place it himself.

She was momentarily caught unawares by the brief instant of physical contact, the effects of which manifested in a sudden and completely unexpected elevation of her heart rate. Ever since she was little, she had always been rather particular about touch, this being the result of her upbringing by Byakuya, who had to be one of the least affectionate person she knew. (Even at her college graduation, where she finished at the top of her class, he only gave her a calm, "Congratulations.") Though she did not dislike physical contact, such interactions were usually reserved for select people, such as Momo.

Ichigo seemed to think naught of the hand brushing, however, and so she snapped herself out of the momentary daze and immediately followed up with a question, "So what did you want to say earlier?"

"Oh yeah, that. About your friend, the one who was just here," he gestured towards the door.

"Momo?"

"Does she happen to own a bakery?"

"Yes, she made the cupcakes you saw on the dining room table earlier," Rukia tilted her head, intrigued. "You know her?"

"There's a chance I might be wrong, but I'm pretty certain she was a passenger of mine a while back. A shot in the dark: did she happen to fund her business with Kickstarter?"

"Yes."

Ichigo snapped his fingers. "That's definitely her, then. I didn't remember her face exactly, but she did seem vaguely familiar. Then I saw the cupcakes, which reminded me of that person because from what I recall, she was very, _very_ passionate about baking. Small world."

"I guess it's not that much of a coincidence you saw her, considering how many people you've probably met, being a taxi driver. Do you remember all your passengers?"

"Definitely not, just the more interesting ones, I guess."

Without thinking, Rukia let slip, "Would I be considered one of the 'more interesting ones'?"

Not skipping a beat, Ichigo responded, "Of course, considering you were full-out drunk from, what, one glass of wine?"

Flushing a deep crimson, Rukia retorted, "It was at least two."

"That doesn't make it much better," he said, amused. "Anyway, your friend just stuck with me because I actually donated to her startup fund because she kept mentioning it to me during the ride."

Not surprised, for Momo had incessantly bombarded her with mentions of the Kickstarter at that period of time as well, Rukia said, "If you want to have one of her cupcakes, go ahead. You know, get back your money's worth."

"It's fine, I'm not hungry." As if to mock him, Ichigo's stomach immediately followed with an audible growl.

Rukia raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

"Well, maybe just one," he caved in.

As he stepped out to choose a cupcake, Rukia turned her attention back to the soup. Curious to try it while it was still warm, and also glad that this gift from Yuzu and Karin relieved her of the duty of having to make dinner that day, she took out a bowl from the cabinets and ladled out as much as would fit. Before digging in, however, she recalled her brother's philosophies of hospitality that have been drilled in her head. Deciding it would be rude if she did not at least offer Ichigo some, she called out, "Do you want some soup? Unless you've already had some at Yuzu and Karin's place."

He reappeared at the doorway to the kitchen, half-eaten cupcake in hand. Laughing, he said, "Actually, Karin wouldn't let me touch any of it, saying it was all saved for you. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought they were your sisters instead of mine."

Rukia snickered, feeling her affection for the twins growing even more. "So is that a yes to the soup?"

"I probably shouldn't," he said, glancing down at his watch. "I still have a later shift at work in about half an hour...but just to spite Karin, maybe a small bowl if it's not too much trouble."

"Of course." She set out a second bowl and filled it halfway, handing it to Ichigo.

Upon accepting it, he took a few large gulps and managed to finish it all within the span of a few seconds. Raising his voice artificially loud and directing it towards the direction of the wall between Rukia's apartment and his sisters', he exclaimed, "Wow, this soup tastes great."

There was a moment of silence before he and Rukia both heard Karin's voice, muffled by the walls but the tone still harsh enough to indicate that she was shouting, "Ichigo, you _better_ not be eating Yuzu's soup! Or I will be kicking your ass in the immediate future!"

Satisfied, Ichigo turned back to Rukia with a grin and said, "Now I'll really get going."

"Be careful, in case Karin's waiting in ambush to actually kick your ass."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ichigo replied and headed towards the sink. "Is the left faucet handle for hot water?"

"Here, give me your bowl, I'll wash it." Rukia made her way next to him, hand reaching out and grabbing the dish.

Rather than letting go, Ichigo pulled the bowl back towards him, "No, no, I'll wash it. You gave me the food, so I can do the cleanup."

"No really, let me do it." She held on tightly as well. "Kuchikis don't let guests handle the chores at their home."

"And I don't really want to show up at someone else's house and not clean up after myself."

This standoff continued on for a short while until Ichigo realized that Rukia was not going to capitulate on the issue, so he released his grip. Rukia did not expect him to do so without a warning, however, and the sudden lack of a counterforce cause her to fling her hand back uncontrollably. The bowl crashed onto the floor behind her, shattering into pieces.

Stunned, both of them were motionless until the initial shock evaporated and they finally processed what had happened.

Once they did, Ichigo sprung into action and knelt down by the bits of ceramic, "I'll clean it up."

This time, Rukia did not protest.

After all the fragments have been picked up, Ichigo opened his mouth then closed it again, unsure of what to say. Ultimately, he decided on, "How much did that bowl cost? I'll pay you back."

"It's fine, you don't need to give me any money." she waved it off, knowing she had to shoulder part of the blame as well. "You can just give me a ride to work tomorrow morning in your cab and we'll call it even."

"Okay, what time?"

"No, no, I didn't mean that seriously." Rukia smiled weakly.

"Oh...well, that offer still stands. As my apology for the bowl." He slid his hands into his pockets, waiting for a response.

There was a slight second of hesitation before Rukia decided that, maybe, it would be a refreshing break from taking public transport like she had always done before. "I guess then eight o'clock will be good?" Why did this give her the uncanny feeling of something like a date?

"Okay." Ichigo glanced down at his watch again, swore, and excused himself, "I'm going to be late for work, I have to go. I'll be here tomorrow at eight, then."

Rukia watched as he rushed out, mildly stunned and mildly in disbelief at how her afternoon had transpired, then realized that she has not yet taken a single bite of Yuzu's soup. She took a sip. Ichigo was right, it was delicious.

 **A/N: Don't worry guys, I haven't given up on this story, even though I know I haven't updated in so long. Once we get to about mid-January, I'll have a LOT more leisure time and will hopefully be able to write more. I didn't have much time to edit this chapter in between all the other work I had to do, so parts of it might be rough.**

 **As always, I would love to hear what you guys think! Thanks for being so patient!**


	6. Chapter 6 Part One

**Chapter Six Part One**

Momo was extremely, extremely suspicious. Throughout all the years that she and Rukia had known each other, she had learned how to pick up on all the subtleties of her friend's mannerisms. That meant any fluctuations in Rukia's mood were immediately discernable, and during this phone conversation, it was clear something _momentous_ had happened.

Just as Rukia finished the retelling of the events that happened with the unexpected visitor, a realization dawned upon Momo. "Rukia, I think—and correct me if I'm wrong—that you may have a crush on this guy."

Rukia sustained three full seconds of silence before spontaneously protesting, "Momo, I have no idea what you're talking about. I was only—"

"Okay, okay, okay," Momo interrupted. Knowing that Rukia was most likely more oblivious about her own feelings than an unbiased outsider would be, despite the obvious signs, she attempted a different approach. "Let's just analyze the situation, then. You've always said that you're a rational person who likes to look at the evidence, right?"

"Of course."

"Well, then I have some straightforward questions. It might clear things up if you're able to answer them for me."

"Go ahead."

"What color are his eyes?"

Rukia huffed. "I don't see how this is relevant, Momo."

"Just answer it, please."

"Like a very warm brown, I would say. Any other ridiculous questions?"

"Is he tall?"

"My head goes right up to his shoulders. If I had to guess an exact height, I would have to say at least 180 centimeters."

"His most distinguishable characteristic?"

"Probably how blunt and insulting he can be. You should have heard what he said to me the night we first met, and all of that ends up making _me_ irritated and say something back, so it's a vicious cycle, really." Though she tried to sound matter-of-fact, her words began running into each other as she finished the sentence like the last leg of a sprint.

Momo began to laugh. "Okay, let me lay this out for you then. If you would've asked me those questions, or any of his friends I would bet, they would have said 'dark,' 'very tall,' and 'his really ginger hair.' In fact, your last answer was probably the one that clued me in the most. Ask his mother and I still believe she would have said his ginger hair. You, however, jumped right to his personality!"

"I thought his hair was too obvious of an answer, that's all. Besides, you saw him for all of, what? A minute? Two minutes? I think you're jumping to conclusions."

"Well, my question did ask for his most obvious trait. But hold on, I'm not finished yet. The first two answers you gave were also much more detailed than what a mere acquaintance would have said. Add that to the fact that I think you left out some big details in the story, and I'm almost certain you like this person more than you let on."

Rukia was quiet for another stretch of time.

"Keep in mind we've known each other for more than ten years, is it? I've helped you with all your past crushes, flings, whatever you want to call them, so I know the signs," Momo said with an air of confidence.

"Okay, I did leave something out," Rukia admitted. "To make up for the bowl breaking, he said he would pick me up and give me a free ride to work tomorrow morning."

"What do you mean, 'free'?"

"Oh, I left this out, too," she said. "You see, he works as a...taxi driver. So it's free as in he will not charge me for the fare."

Something in Rukia's tone finally made understanding dawn upon Momo as the pieces of the puzzle clicked together. "You don't like that he's a taxi driver," she said. "Is that why you're so reluctant to admit that you might have started to like him? Because you think what he does for a living isn't up to your standards? We've always been pretty open about this topic to each other in the past, you know. Is this why it's different this time with this guy?"

"I feel like you're trying to accuse me of something," Rukia mumbled.

"No, no, nothing accusatory, I swear. I just want to understand the situation. So am I right?"

"I don't know," said Rukia. "I still don't understand half of it myself. Maybe you _are_ right, Momo, and I just don't want to admit it to myself. Let's just say for a second that I do like him and that we do start dating for whatever reason, I would then come to the point where I need to introduce him to Byakuya and the rest of the Kuchikis, and you know how that would turn out. You know, Byakuya's family nearly disowned him when he married my sister because they thought she was too 'beneath' him."

"But Byakuya married her anyways."

"Right, but that doesn't mean much for my situation. He still made up with his extended family, and he still cares about what they think of him, and as an extension, what they think of me. He'll interrogate Ichigo to death about his job, how much he earns, where he went to college, which I question if he did at all. Things like that. They're very important to him and the rest of the family."

"And are they just as important to you as well?"

"...I don't want them to be anymore."

 **A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates, and thank you for sticking with this story! I've had a very hectic schedule lately, but I didn't want you guys to wait for too long, so I decided to post part one of chapter six. Part two should be coming soon, so stay tuned. Reviews would be greatly appreciated!**


	7. Chapter 6 Part Two

**Chapter Six Part Two**

If Ichigo were forced to describe his daily morning routine, he would sum it up as "a complete and utter mess every single morning." Typically, it involved him hitting the snooze button at least twice, before the threat of being late to work finally invigorated him enough to actually get out of bed and prepare for the day ahead. Breakfast then usually included whatever was convenient at the time that he could find, which often consisted of nothing. All of this was to say, mornings were definitely not the best time of day for Ichigo.

This morning, however, he actually felt refreshed, although he could not pinpoint a reason why. For the same time in over a year, he managed to wake up fully without needing to slam the snooze button even once. With all of the extra time that he had that he previously squandered by oversleeping, he even attempted to tame his spiky hair and made some toast for a proper breakfast.

And, to further prove how much he had his life together this morning, Ichigo actually remembered that he had not checked his mail for quite a few days. He usually didn't expect any and had no real obligation to check, considering he paid all his bills online and have not corresponded with anyone through snail mail in a decade. However, it never hurt to at least maintain _some_ adult responsibilities.

Much to his surprise, he was greeted with three letters.

He tossed aside the first two, which were junk mail from credit card companies, but froze at the sight of the last one. The senders' names were in plain sight, and they were very familiar indeed.

"Orihime Inoue and Uryu Ishida," he mumbled to himself. Interesting.

Resisting the urge to open the envelope immediately, he first returned to the privacy of his own apartment before carefully making a clean slit on the edge of the paper. He withdrew from the envelope an elaborate card, complete with gold ink highlights and lace patterns and the scent of something...flowery? Monotonously, robotically, he began to read the text aloud despite being able to guess for certain what it was at first sight.

"You're invited...to the wedding of Orihime Inoue...and Uryu Ishida...on the day..." he trailed off in silence as he took in the rest of the information. There was even an option for him to bring a plus one.

Why would she send this to him? It had to have been at least two years since he last saw Orihime face-to-face, and that was only at their most recent high school reunion, during which they exchanged little more than the obligated pleasantries.

He had been doing so recently well in forgetting her, too, even beginning to find that Rukia Kuchiki cute, but this new development...oh, Rukia...the thought of her jolted him back into reality.

If he didn't leave in the next few minutes, he would not arrive in time at Rukia's apartment at eight like he had promised. Grabbing a coat, Ichigo haphazardly stuffed the card in his pocket and pushed all thoughts of it out of his mind. He still had a number of questions regarding the invitation, but he knew that he would not be able to find an answer to any of them anytime soon, so rather than pointlessly mentally agonizing over this for the moment, he set out to pick up Rukia.

* * *

Rukia was dressed, groomed, and ready to leave right as the clock struck 7:45 AM. Realizing that she did not have Ichigo's personal cell number—and that he would not be able to contact her whenever he actually arrives—she made extra sure to finish preparing ahead of time and to be waiting on the sidewalk in front of her building with considerable time to spare. Just in case if he arrived early.

7:55 AM. She began to pat down and smooth her hair.

7:59 AM. She started glancing up and down the street, hoping to spot a flash of yellow.

8:00 AM. She was so used to everyone in her office being exactly on time for meetings and appointments, so she had to admit that she was slightly taken aback that he has not yet arrived.

8:02 AM. She spotted the signature yellow color of a cab turning at the intersection. She took a step forward before realizing that the driver was not Ichigo and that there was already a passenger in the car. She stepped back.

8:04 AM. She spotted another cab driving down her street, and to her relief, the driver had the characteristic ginger, spiky hair of Ichigo.

The car slowed as she gave a small wave, ultimately stopping right in front of her. She hesitated a moment but then decided to open the front seat door.

"Oh, you're sitting in the front?"

Pausing, she then began to shut the door, saying, "Sorry, is that against company policy? I'll go in the backseat then."

"No no, it's okay," Ichigo waved it off. "I was just surprised because all of the people I've driven before have sat in the back. Some of my coworkers have had front-sitters so it's completely fine, just unusual."

"Okay, if you're sure then," Rukia said and situated herself comfortably in the seat beside his.

"Where to?"

She gave the address of her company.

"Okay. Traffic was a bit awful while I was getting here this morning, so getting there might take a while," he warned.

"That's no problem."

He nodded in acknowledgment and started the cab in the right direction. Unlike the first time she was in his car with him, he did not attempt to start any conversations and kept his eyes locked on the road, which, to Rukia, appeared out of the norm. Never was he this quiet and seemingly distracted during the other occasions that they had interacted, either. Perhaps he was just having an off day, but she had been hoping that they would at least...talk. The silence was disappointing.

Glancing out the window, she scanned for something interesting, maybe a landmark or a pedestrian, to bring up as a topic that might stimulate a conversation but came up empty-handed. The route to the office was one that she had traversed countless times before, and nothing about it seemed interesting enough to talk about to Rukia. As a backup plan, she then scanned the inside of the cab until her gaze landed upon the glove compartment right beside her, which was occupied by a crumpled, albeit ornate, card.

"An invitation?"

"Hmm?" He looked at her, then followed her eyes down to the card. "Oh. Yes. It is."

"It looks very fancy, what's it for? Wedding? Baby shower? Graduation party?" Rukia was intrigued. As a Kuchiki, who were ardent fans of formal parties and all the pageantry that accompanied them, she grew up attending a number of them.

"Wedding."

She waited, expecting him to elaborate. When he failed to, she probed, "Whose is it?"

"A friend's."

Finally realizing that perhaps his curt responses were a sign that she had stumbled upon a sensitive topic, Rukia ceased her questioning. Much to her surprise, however, Ichigo himself chose to continue.

"Well, actually, not so much a friend as an ex-girlfriend," he admitted, eyes never leaving the road and expression blank.

"Oh?" Rukia said gently, noncommittally.

Ichigo paused momentarily, before rapidly shooting a glance over. In a more vexed tone, he continued, "In fact, we had been together all of high school. Then, ya know, we graduated, and everything kind of fell apart, just a bit."

"Did you two try long distance?" Rukia leaned towards him almost imperceptibly.

"For less than a year, but then she broke it off because she thought it was 'unsustainable' and started seeing someone else." He swore under his breath when a car in the adjacent lane cut him off. "Sorry. Anyway, she wanted to stay friends, like that was even a possibility. She'd try to text or email me from time to time afterward, but I'd obviously tried to stay as distanced as I could. We haven't talked in years, so I don't know what her motivations are for sending this to me. Is this her version of telling me, 'Look, I've found someone. Have you?'"

How does one respond in a situation such as this? Rukia had no idea. Thankfully, she did not have to.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be venting to you like this. We barely know each other. You must think I'm being overfamiliar," he immediately followed up.

"Oh it's no problem," Rukia shook her head and gave a small laugh. "A lot of my friends say I'm a good person to vent to." That was a lie. He probably the only person besides Momo that has vented to her in years. After his ranting, however, he seemed to return to his old self again, much to Rukia's relief.

For the rest of the cab ride, he began the dramatic retelling of a Yuzu and Karin story, knowing that to be a safe topic. Right as he was progressing to the climax, however, they arrived at Rukia's destination.

"That's too bad, I was just getting to the good part," Ichigo said, breaking out of a falsetto imitation of Karin's voice.

"It's okay, you can always finish it at a later time," Rukia replied and dared to flash him an uncertain grin as well. It quickly disappeared, however, after the realization that she was now, in fact, three minutes late to a company meeting. "Shit!"

 **A/N: Don't worry, guys, I swear I'm not dead! I promised myself that I would finish this fic, however long it might take, so I intend to stick to that promise. Anyways, please don't take this chapter as me bashing on Orihime, because I rather like her, though just not with Ichigo, haha.**

 **As always, I would appreciate any reviews, and thank you guys for continuing to read this!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

This was not good, this was really not good. In fact, to Rukia, this might be one of the worst things that could have happened. After her talk earlier with Momo, she is beginning to find herself becoming more and more aware of her own burgeoning feelings for one particular taxi driver. Painfully aware, in fact, as if putting these emotions into words made them more real for her than before, when they were but an abstract notion inside her mind. And she was not a fan of this new development.

Rukia liked to live by the philosophy of "slow and steady," whether that be in reference to projects at work, chores at home, or, in this case, relationships. For that very reason, she now found herself to be...at odds with her state of being and her usual way of going about things.

While she had no particular issues with having a crush on Ichigo Kurosaki—yes, she at least had the self awareness and boldness to admit that to herself—the pace of its occurrence and growth has no doubt caught her off guard.

Slow and steady crushes are predictable and controllable for her, usually occurring over the course of several months: typically, she first becomes friends with this hypothetical person, which lays the ground for more serious affections to grow; throughout that period of time, before she seriously commits herself to liking someone, she would also be able to better gauge that person's personality, values, and character to decide whether or not it was even worth it to attempt a relationship. A very logical and reasonable way to go about it, to her.

For the life of her, however, she cannot understand why she has grown to be so fond of Ichigo, someone she has met in person few enough times to be able to count with the fingers on one hand, in such a short span of time. Since the ride he gave her this morning, she has not been able to stop thinking about him, which was the really annoying part, for it interfered greatly with her productivity thus far at work. Clearly, this also symbolized that she was not as much of a professional as she had thought, bringing her personal life into the company and letting it plague her so.

Even now, as she pondered the issue to herself in her office, she was further exacerbating the issue by continuing to think about him.

"Gaaaah," she groaned in frustration, burying her head in her arms.

"Problem, Miss Kuchiki?"

Rukia's head snapped up as she attempted to regain her composure. Toshiro stood at the door to her office with a frown, clutching a clipboard and documents. This was the third time today that he has dropped by. She suspects that he has noticed that she wasn't performing at her usual standards, but, because he was her junior, he was reluctant to bluntly speak out against her about her behavior. As a result, these periodic check-ups were either meant to subtly hint to her that she needs to pull her act together or his way of showing concern. She had to give him credit, for he turned out to be keener and more perceptive than she originally thought.

"No, no, I'm fine, Toshiro. Just tired."

"If you say so," he replied easily. "I was just wondering how far along you were with the quarterly report. The senior Mr. Kuchiki has requested it—"

"—at five o'clock today, I know," she intercepted. "I'll have it finished, don't you worry."

"I wasn't worried, I was just curious about your progress."

Ah, liar, he definitely was worried, though she supposes that she couldn't fault him for his conscientiousness. "I still have a few sections left to write, but I'll definitely be able to have it done in time, Toshiro."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Toshiro marched forward, set his clipboard and pages down on her desk within an arm's reach, and said, "These are my sections that I just finished. It would be good if you could turn review them and turn them in with the final copy."

"Thank you," Rukia gave a polite smile and turned her gaze towards her computer screen. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back to work."

Realizing that was his cue to leave, Toshiro began to head towards the door. At the last minute, he seemed to have changed his mind about something and stopped in place, turning back to look at her before saying, "If you're really tired, I could bring you a cup of coffee."

Rukia looked back at him in surprise, never expecting such an offer to come from him, who had appeared to be so impartial to her before as a coworker. After some rationalizations inside her head, and ultimately attributing this kindness to the fact that he probably was just using the coffee as an insurance that she would finish the report on time (and therefore avoiding having his own reputation become collateral damage), she said, "Sure, that would sound great, thanks."

Even though she was not actually tired, it was probably better that he felt like he was contributing at least a little to her productivity.

Toshiro returned promptly from the break room with a steaming cup of coffee, and after offering her thanks, Rukia turned her attention to the report. Though she found concentrating difficult, the looming deadline and the thought of her brother's disapproval should it be finished late kept her motivated.

At ten minutes to five, she cracked her knuckles, finally satisfied with herself. Within the past three hours, she had managed to successfully blockade out—most of—her intrusive thoughts of Ichigo, finish her sections, and proofread both her part and Toshiro's as well. After sending the report to Byakuya, she began gathering her belongings and preparing to head home for the day, which was when an idea struck her.

It was audacious, bold, shameless even, but once it came into existence, she just couldn't seem to suppress it.

As for the question of whether or not she had enough guts to carry out what she had in mind, that was more dubious. Rukia clenched her fists, debating fiercely with herself inside her head. On one hand, would this give the wrong impression? Would she come off as bizarre? How much of a hint could he take from this? Does she even want to give the hint?

Finally, some part of her capitulated, and she pulled out her phone to search for a number online.

"Hello, this is Karakura Taxi Service, how may I be of help to you?"

"I would like to order a cab."

"Of course, ma'am. Now—"

"—Excuse me," Rukia interrupted softly, "but am I also able to request a specific driver with your service?"

"Of course, ma'am. Is there someone you have in mind?"

"...Yes."

 **A/N: This chapter was brief, but it shows that Rukia's at least more aware of her own feelings and is willing to take action. Also, typically, I don't think cab companies allow customers to request specific drivers, but for the sake of IchiRuki and true love, let's assume that we can, haha. I was also looping through the soundtrack of Kimi No Na Wa while writing this, so that set the mood really well.**

 **Thanks for reading, and I would love and appreciate any reviews!**


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